Meet Martin Vehlow
REALTOR® with Coldwell Banker Realty
Hello, I’m Martin Vehlow!
I was first inspired and became interested in real estate when one of my friends did extensive renovations to his home. From there, I really got hooked on real estate investing when my wife and I bought a fixer-upper single family in Round Lake Beach in 2010.
After many long evenings and weekends, and lots of help from our family and friends, our home was finished!
Then I read Rich Dad, Poor Dad. A total mindset-changer for me. Instead of feeling stuck in the 9-5 career I was in, I realized I could build whatever future I wanted for myself. Next I spent two years educating myself on the different strategies, markets, and long-term wealth building.
Before
After
One key takeaway from this was that there are a lot of scammers, gurus, and similar looking to take advantage of investors. However, all the knowledge I’ve obtained is free, through podcasts, books, forums, and most importantly, building relationships with other experienced investors in the space. I felt like I had achieved a very thorough understanding of what I was looking for, and decided to move forward.
One of the hardest moves was the next one. We decided to buy a 4-plex to test our being a landlord and see if we could put all these principles and formulas to work. It was difficult because we had to leave the dream home we had worked so hard on, and live in one of these apartments.
We lived in one of the units ourselves for a year, renovated several, and started learning valuable lessons in landlording and tenant relations. This property is now cashflowing well and proving to be a valuable asset.
Our first investment, a 4-plex apartment building.
Next, I made the very difficult decision to quit my day job and go full-time into real estate. After many long days of extensive studying, I took the real estate broker exam and passed the first time! I now work with Coldwell Banker Realty.
Our latest investment, a 6-unit value-add.
Early in 2020, just as COVID was pending, we purchased a 6-unit value-add multifamily in Round Lake Beach. After renovating all units and placing new tenants, we have significantly increased the value of this property while providing clean, affordable housing for our tenants.
Be sure to look for my case study where I give the details on a single-family home that I helped one of my investor clients purchase, which turned out even better than we planned!
I consider it crucial to follow the Golden Rule, and I do my best to treat others as I want to be treated. If you’d like to chat, please reach out. I value relationships over making a sale and would love to chat with you, regardless of what your real estate goals are!
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